Trying to get the FBI prints slowed us down considerably in this process. We had ZERO helpful guidance in what to do and where to go for prints in Mexico (including from the US Embassy in Mexico!!!) The Canadian embassy couldn't help us, the Mexican police station we went to wouldn't do it; we even asked the people doing the prints for the constancia and came up with nothing. I sincerely hope that those of you living in Mexico who need FBI prints have better luck than we did. I urge you to start trying to figure it out now if you know or even suspect you will be asked for this clearance. We were obviously asking the wrong people; or not asking the right questions but to make a very long story short -- we basically gave up.
The rest of the story reads like a comic strip.
We watched a video on Crimescene.com (yes, you read that right) on how to roll fingerprints. Ordered a print kit from their website. Trust me, the ink pad alone is worth the price. Don't believe me? Practice rolling prints without smudging for awhile. You'll see
While I was visiting in Mexico we did several practice runs and then rolled about 10 cards. I brought them back to Canada with me and took them into a fingerprinting agency to review and they were kind enough to pick out the best ones most likely to be accepted and we mailed them ALL!!! Refused to take any chances given that the results take 4-8 weeks to get back to you.
The FBI had no problems with the prints and we had the clear record back in 4 weeks.
If you can find a place in Mexico that will do prints acceptable to the FBI then by all means go for it and PLEASE post where you went and what you did here for others. To say the whole thing was a pain in the ass is an understatement. And the stress of waiting to make sure the prints were okay for the FBI was agonizing. But it all worked out.
Here's the link for the ink, pad, and instruction video if you need to go this route. Keep in mind the shipping takes a week or so to get the stuff delivered to Mexico.
One day, after we have the PPR, I will think back and laugh at the memory of fingerprint cards and ink strewn all over a table and us sweating bullets trying to roll a huge thumb that wouldn't fit anyway but diagnally. But right now, all you're getting is an eyeroll, a crooked smile and a big cringe. ???
http://www.crimescene.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=51&products_id=117
hope this doesn't effect us too badly.
